ATLANTA – Southern Company today announced a regular quarterly dividend of 37¼ cents per share on the company’s common stock, payable March 6, 2006, to shareholders of record Feb. 6, 2006.

This marks the 233rd consecutive quarter – dating back to 1948 – that Southern Company will have paid a dividend to its shareholders.

With more than 4 million customers and more than 40,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier super-regional energy company in the Southeast and a leading U.S. producer of electricity. Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are 15 percent below the national average. Southern Company has been ranked the nation`s top energy utility in the American Customer Satisfaction Index six years in a row. Southern Company has more than 500,000 shareholders, making its common stock one of the most widely held in the United States. Visit the Southern Company Web site at www.southerncompany.com.